


Lifeline

by TauriCXIV



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, CPR, Electrocution, Friendly stabbing, Gen, Gladio and Ignis are CPR certified, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mouth-to-Mouth, Near Death Experiences, hurt noct
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24008092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TauriCXIV/pseuds/TauriCXIV
Summary: Bad Things Happen Bingo: CPRGladio laced his fingers together, placed the heel of his palm on Noct’s chest, and pressed. It took a moment for Prompto’s rattled brain to recognize it as CPR.Noctis' life is in his friends' hands.
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1254488
Comments: 13
Kudos: 136





	Lifeline

It was all his fault. All because Prompto wanted a stupid picture. If he’d just let Noct sleep—if he hadn’t insisted on dragging his half-conscious friend out into the wilderness then none of this would have happened. _Astrals_ , the sun was barely up and they were already fighting for their lives! 

He should have known there were coeurls around. 

Prompto played backup while Noctis zoomed around the battlefield. He was thankful—not for the first time—that being a ranged fighter kept him far away from the giant cat’s claws and teeth. It also gave him a great view of Noct in action. He watched Noct appear in a hail of sparks, land blow after blow against the enemy, then warp away again with practiced grace. 

They were almost done—Prompto could see the coeurl slowing down. One more good hit should do it. Noct was mid warp, Prompto admiring the brutal elegance of it and wishing he had his camera out when he noticed the coeurl falling back into sitting position.

There was no time to shout a warning. Noct’s form materialized just as the beast released a devastating blast of electricity. 

Everything flashed white. His hair stood on end. When the light faded Noct was face down on the ground, his sword feet from him. He wasn’t moving. 

But the coeurl was. It rushed at the prone prince—teeth bared and ready to deliver a killing bite. 

Prompto aimed and fired. The coeurl collapsed. 

_“Noooct!”_ Prompto ran and fell to his knees at Noct’s side. He tugged at his friend’s jacket and rolled him onto his back. Noct’s eyes were shut. Frantic, Prompto materialized a potion and shattered it against Noct’s chest. 

Nothing happened. 

He needed something stronger. Prompto grasped for a phoenix down…but there weren’t any. Oh, they’d used the last one on their most recent hunt. On him. 

A sob tore from his throat. He shook Noct by the shoulders. “C’mon, man. Get up. Noct. _Noct!”_

Something approached from behind. Instinctively, Prompto shielded Noct’s body with his own and grabbed for his gun, ready to take out whatever new threat had presented itself. Instead of an enemy, he found Ignis and Gladio. He dropped his gun. They must have heard the fight back at camp and come running. 

“Coeurl,” Prompto gasped, choking on the word.

Ignis pushed past Gladio, who stood with his greatsword resting on his shoulder and stared at Noct with open-mouthed horror. Ignis sank to his knees and placed his ear on Noct’s chest. He pressed two fingers against Noct’s neck. “He’s not breathing and I can’t feel a pulse.”

“Phoenix down!” Gladio ordered.

“We’re all out!” cried Prompto.

“Dammit! Get back.” Gladio dismissed his sword and took Ignis’ place at Noct’s side. Ignis moved up by Noct’s head. Gladio laced his fingers together and placed the heel of his palm on Noct’s chest and pressed. It took a moment for Prompto’s rattled brain to recognize it as CPR. Gods, Gladio was giving Noct _CPR_ —the thing they did when someone was about to _die._

Gladio worked at a steady rhythm, manually forcing Noct’s heart to pump. It was disturbing to watch his huge arms shove down on Noct’s chest. Was he supposed to press that hard? What if he hurt Noct? How could Noct not break under that kind of force? Prompto turned to say as much to Ignis, but the other man’s face was set like stone, firm, and focused. 

“Now,” barked Gladio, moving back.

Ignis tilted Noct’s head back and pinched his nose before covering his mouth with his own. Ignis breathed twice into his mouth, feeding air into Noct’s lungs. When he was done, Gladio resumed compressions.

“We need something to restart his heart,” Ignis said. There was a tremor in his voice Prompto had never heard before. Ignis was _scared_. “Another shock should do the trick.”

Prompto frowned. The only kind of shock they had was lightning magic. But there was no way an elemancy flask would work. They’d just end up frying Noct—themselves, too, most likely. Prompto considered suggesting they take Noct to the elemancy deposit, and like, _throwing_ him on it or something, but that sounded dumb even in his head. Plus, he thought, watching Gladio work fervently to keep his heart going, they couldn’t risk moving him. 

Maybe another coeurl– No. 

Ignis didn’t seem to have any ideas either. He was staring down at Noct’s face— his stony expression beginning to crumble.

“Wait, Ignis! Can’t you channel some lightning magic with your daggers?”

Ignis’ brow furrowed. “That hardly helps us now!”

“Iggy,” Gladio cut in, and Ignis gave another round of rescue breaths. They were just stalling for time, and every second that passed lowered Noct’s chance of surviving. He looked half-dead already.

“We’ve got nothing else!” yelled Prompto. “If you can just lower the power a bit–”

“You are suggesting I _stab_ Noctis!?” Yeah, that did sound insane. But what choice did they have?

“To save his life! It’s his only chance. We’ve got potions, we can heal him after, but not if he’s _dead!”_

“I can’t–” 

Gladio cut him off. “Iggy, do it.” 

Ignis’ eyes darted to Gladio, shocked and outraged. But it was an order that left no room for argument. He bared his teeth as if in pain. Prompto understood how he felt. The thought of harming Noct, even to save him, went against everything they knew to be right.

“Prompto, have a potion ready for the _instant_ I’m done.”

Prompto nodded and summoned another potion. The sight of it seemed to reassure Ignis. Applying a low-level lightning spell, he drew his twin daggers. The air crackled with elemental magic. 

“Stand clear.” 

Gladio stopped giving compressions. Both he and Prompto moved away from Noct. Ignis didn’t hesitate to drive one into Noct’s abdomen and the other below the collarbone. Noct’s body convulsed as the electricity moved through him. Ignis withdrew immediately and Prompto didn’t waste a second before administering the potion. Healing magic poured over him, knitting the skin back together.

“Did it work?” Ignis asked. His face was chalk-white and he had dropped the daggers to his sides. Was he shaking?

Prompto reached out to Noct. Oh, he was shaking, too. He placed a trembling hand over Noct’s heart and waited.

Noct’s chest rose.

“He’s breathing!”

Gladio and Ignis both let out sighs of relief.

Ignis bowed his head. “Thank the gods,” he whispered.

A familiar groan filled the air. Noct’s nose scrunched like it always did when he was roused too early from a nap. The sight made Prompto release a strangled laugh that sounded hysterical even to his own ears. 

“Hey, bud,” he said, scrubbing at his eyes—they were weirdly itchy—with the back of his hand. “Back with us?”

“Ughhh,” was Noct’s response. His eyes slowly cracked, taking in the three of them crowded around him. “Waa happened?”

“You got _messed up.”_

“Prompto,” Ignis chided, but it was hollow. Poor guy had given all his fight to saving Noct. 

Noct groaned again. He lifted his head up and ran a hand over his chest. “I feel like crap. Did a garula step on me?”

“Close to it,” Prompto said, flashing a grin at Gladio.

Gladio rolled his eyes. “You had us going there for a minute, Princess.”

“There’s no need to discuss this now,” said Ignis, banishing his daggers. He seemed to have collected himself. He sounded more like the Ignis Prompto knew, the unshakable and refined Ignis. “His Highness needs to rest.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Noct. Then he laid back down and flopped an arm over his eyes.

“Dude! Not here!”


End file.
